Tag: Talent development

Singapore – Global information technology company Yahoo has announced the expansion of its talent-building programme ‘Yahoo Academy 2023’ to Singapore. Said programme is set to gather sought-after global creative thinkers to share secrets of future-proofing their careers to rising media agency stars across Australia and Singapore.

‘Yahoo Academy’ is open for nominations, with 40 chosen participants set to get a masterclass in future-proofing their careers from world-renowned creative strategists Rosie and Faris Yakob of Genius Steals.

With AI and other emergent technologies already changing job roles and skills needs across the industry, this year’s academy programme will comprise engaging brand-building, networking and mentoring sessions focused on giving participants from Australia and Singapore the tools they need to navigate an exciting future. 

Moreover, it will culminate in a one-day workshop in Sydney led by the Genius Steals founders with a pitch-off competition. In addition, all Yahoo Academy participants will receive a delegate pass to Advertising Week APAC on August 1 and 2, providing an exceptional experience to fuel growth, shape the future, and make a mark in the industry.

John McNerney, managing director of Yahoo AUSEA, said, “Yahoo Academy 2023 promises to be our biggest and most compelling programme yet. With so much happening in the world, we’re thrilled to have two incredible practitioners in Rosie and Faris, joining us to lead what will be a true masterclass in every sense of the word.”

He added, “Launched in 2012, Yahoo Academy is the original and one of the best talent development programmes in the Aussie industry, with a reputation for nurturing leaders of the future. As one of the world’s most competitive economies and the top country for talent competitiveness in APAC, I’m thrilled that we will have participants from Singapore joining us for the first time. By arming rising stars with new skills and ways of thinking, we’re helping all of our agency partners to adapt and thrive.”

Meanwhile, Rosie and Faris Yakob commented, “No one knows exactly what the future holds, but one thing that is certain is that anything that can be automated will eventually be automated. As AI becomes an increasingly hot topic in the industry and beyond, we believe that the best way to future-proof agencies and careers is to focus on uniquely human attributes, namely creativity and collaboration.”

They added, “We believe that workshops, as with all kinds of work, won’t be any good if they aren’t any fun – so we’re really excited to partner with Yahoo to help inspire this group of rising stars, and equip them with the tools and vision to lead our industry into a future we can all get excited about.”

Nominations for the programme close this June 23, with applicants must have 1 to 7 years of experience in the digital media industry and may self-nominate with senior endorsement, or senior leadership may directly nominate talent.

Sydney, Australia – Mediabrands, the media and marketing solutions division of Interpublic Group has announced the launch of the media industry’s first major transformation of automated systems for more than two decades. To bring the 20-month project to life, Mediabrands partnered with global software company UI Path, and information and technology services company, Cognizant. The transition fully automates repetitive manual tasks across Initiative and UM using robotic technology, providing an enhanced career path for talent and a stronger value proposition for clients.

The game changing transformation marks a complete automation of all systems and processes, firmly cementing Mediabrands in a unique space ahead of its competitors and is supported by a bespoke Centre of Excellence allowing the agencies to tap into the capability. 

Mark Coad, CEO of Mediabrands, said the results of the transformation positions Mediabrands as a true innovation leader, having now advanced or improved many of the investment and partnership practices that have been in place for the last twenty years.

“The uncomfortable truth is the media industry has not changed the way it works for more than two decades. Our transformation unburdens our people of the time-consuming and tedious tasks of day-to-day operations and frees them up to do intelligent, creative work that drives growth,” Coad said.

“For those of us who have been in the media hot seat for a long time, we know it’s pretty tough starting out in media agencies. By investing heavily in finding ways to remove some of the less glamourous and more menial tasks from daily workloads, gives our people time to spend learning and developing in areas that drive business growth. Yes of course this benefits our business but more importantly it provides opportunities for our people to improve their career path and self-esteem growth,” Coad added.

Key business tasks have been automated to make processes more seamless, accurate and timely allowing teams to add value with their strategic input and creativity and provide a stronger value proposition for clients. 

Coad concluded, “Staff turnover remains a key on-going problem across the industry and the future will be won by the group who can deliver true career value, and improved career pathing. If you are working for a media agency still riddled with repetitive menial tasks like loadings, TV campaign tracking and post analysis, etc. – then you are putting your career development into slow motion, and not using the bright mind you were recruited for. Our Young Guns now have confirmation that Mediabrands offers a great career path.”

Meanwhile, Geoff Clarke, Mediabrands’ project leader, shared that the transformation was a true collaboration between Mediabrands and its technology automation and software development partners, and he was excited to see the results of nearly two years of development finally come to fruition quickly yielding obvious benefits to staff and clients.

“There is no doubt the complexities of our industry continue to rise so as an industry leader we have proactively changed what we do, to improve what we produce. This has meant implementing significant transformation to prepare our people for a new era in media,” Clarke said.

Clarke adds, “The robotic technology facilitates time for our team to produce higher quality work, which has a direct roll-on effect to increase the value of individual IP, increase craft skill diversity across each business and creates opportunity to shift client relationships from largely a commodity-based arrangement to a true business partnership,” he said.

Recent data extracted across several of the Mediabrands automated solutions (BOTs) since launch, has saved more than 3,300 hours automating nearly 13,000 tasks that were previously manually completed. The program is on track to deliver more than 25,000 saved hours across the next 12 months. 

Clarke continued, “By modernising and automating the way in which our media buying services are managed and recorded, we provide more efficient and timely services for clients. Our series of BOTS make up the only end-to-end solution that works across the buy/book/pay aspect of media agencies – and is the only one in existence in the industry. It makes a major statement to the market.”

Singapore — Redhill, a full-service global communications agency headquartered in Singapore, has announced the elevation of several employees across four markets following its 2021 end-of-year appraisals. This is in line with Redhill’s focus on talent development and aligned with the agency’s growing areas of expertise and services.

For its content and research division, the new promotions are namely Imran Arif as director for content and research, Karin Chan as senior manager for content and research, and Hannah Nwaozuzu, as senior executive for content and research.

Meanwhile, the new promotions for its creative and production team include Mark Goonewardene as design director, Dulesh Fernando as design team lead, Suraj Maddumage as tech team lead, Nizam Raban as video team lead.

The agency’s PR and communications team also saw a slew of promotions, namely Kenneth Chew as senior account manager, while Eugene Nonis, Victoria Mak, and Tanwarat (Minnie) Tiyapongprapan are promoted as account managers. Meanwhile, Julene Low and Shelton Chang are promoted to senior account executives; while Nea Tateanna, Dominic Lee, Joye Wong, and Audrey Oricelli are promoted to account executives.

Lastly, Wasana Botheju is promoted to the role of the executive for finance and HR as part of the agency’s operations team. Pranav Rastogi, managing director of Redhill, commented on the promotions, saying that people are the most valuable asset of any business, adding that talent development and growth is one of the company’s biggest priorities.

“We invest significant time and resources to give their team the skills and competencies they need to succeed in their roles. I’m delighted to recognize our team’s hard work and dedication and look forward to the continued growth of my colleagues as they assume their new roles and responsibilities,” said Rastogi.

The promotions will support the agency as it continues to broaden its integrated communication capabilities and public affairs offerings across verticals – technology, hospitality and tourism, luxury and lifestyle, finance, healthcare, corporate and investor relations, and reputation management.

Last November, the full-service global communications firm also appointed several managing directors to different teams of key regions to bolster their senior leadership.